Customer Rating: 
Summary: An Awesome Reference Manual...And More
Comment: I earned part of my college education by working in a bike shop. In this way I discovered that wheelbuilding can be a very exacting form of Zen meditation. Roll the clock forward. Gerd Schraner's excellent book hit me like a Master's broomstick. Schraner's is the ultimate art one might achieve if one devoted an entire lifetime to this gentle pursuit.
"The Art of Wheelbuilding" is subtitled "a bench reference for neophytes, pros, and wheelaholics." There is, indeed, something in it for anyone/everyone who cherishes the bicycle as the most efficient transportation machine humankind has ever created. Any serious cyclist...whether or not she/he actually builds or maintains wheels...can learn much about our sport from this book. This book is more than a simple "how to".
At the same time, "The Art of Wheelbuilding" is a concise, insightful, and user-friendly shop manual. From the most basic aspects of bicycle wheels to the most esoteric, Schraner not only tells HOW but more importantly WHY each step must be done to move from a pile of raw parts to the amazing, living system that is a well-built bicycle wheel. History, tools, components, technology, techniques, and hard-earned tips: it's difficult to imagine how anyone could pack more direction and wisdom into approximately 100 bench-friendly pages.
Bottom line: this "bikie bible" rocks! It is easily worth five stars and then some. Bravo, Mr. Schraner...may your wheels roll long and free!
Customer Rating: 
Summary: A very nice book
Comment: Covers all the basic skills needed to build a good set of wheels. I am happy with the book, but it would have been nice to see some additional hints for beginners.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Misinformation, unspecific, fluffy and stretched, poor translation
Comment: I don't understand someone could stand to read more than five pages of this book without feeling the overwhelming disappointment associated with knowing that he has just wasted his money.
First, the book is horribly translated. It's not so bad that the book is incomprehensible, but its bad enough that most people will find the reading extremely awkward.
Secondly, the book is very poorly edited and typeset. It's obvious that this book was very rushed. While I didn't notice spelling errors, there are many minor errors related to spacing and typeface. More importantly, many of the diagrams are unclear, and the pictures, although mostly color, are often blurry or poorly composed.
The book itself is mostly filler and fluff. The author starts out by disclaiming having any actual qualifications, and it goes downhill from there. It's very obvious that the author is stretching just to meet the magical 100 page mark. Some pages are nothing but rambling, somewhat disguised by the horrible translation.
Many parts of this book are completely unclear. For example, there's a section on corked wheels that I've re-read many times, and still don't understand; it doesn't explain what the benefit of corking is, or how one would do this, or even why he's mentioning it. There's an accompanying picture of a corked rim that's so poor I can't see what is intended.
This book lacks most of the specific advice that I suspect people are buying it for. For example, the author refuses to share the ordinary method for lacing wheels, on the grounds that it is "described so often in the bicycle press [that it] does not need to be described in this book too," instead recommending a VHS videotape from DT Swiss for this purpose.
The author's association with DT Swiss, which is not explicitly stated in the text, severely undermines his credibility. Much of the information that is interesting in this text is specific to the DT product line, some apparently directly copied from DT manuals.
In addition, much of the guidance the author offers is obsolete, dubious, or just plain wrong. This author repeats many common bicycle myths that have long been proven to be fallacies. He also recommends various outdated and obsolete practices, such as soldering and tying--which he describes in more detail than is present anywhere else in the book--that have been soundly discredited for use on modern bicycles.
There is very little in this book that is worthwhile reading, and so much misinformation. The fact that much of the book is confusing, incomprehensible, or inane is really just the icing on the cake. Since there is at least one excellent, definitive, and authoritative reference on the bicycle wheel, I can see absolutely no reason anyone would want to buy this book.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great wheel building book
Comment: This book is fantastic. There's a simple step by step formula for lacing up a wheel that is better than anything I've ever read. Really.
Building a wheel isn't exactly rocket science, but if you do it wrong, you're going to have a poor quality wheel. Build it right, and your wheel will be better than a factory can turn out.
If you're looking to build a wheelset, or if you may be build 1-2 wheels a year, this is an excellent primer and reference.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Good Resource: Not a step-by-step
Comment: This is a great book to read to understand some of the concepts of wheelbuilding. It answers many of the "why" questions. It is not, however, a step-by-step guide on how to build a wheel. For instance, when attempting to build my first wheel, I wanted to know the best specific method for threading the spokes. This book does not include that and you must go elsewhere to get that information. Overall, a good augmentation to your detailed maintenance manuals.
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